Addictions
by fluffyandkagura
Summary: "It happened to the best of them. All of them could admit to the addiction...her addiction had caused her suffering. But now it caused her a great pleasure" Ariadne shows up at Arthur's door, soaking and scared. Full summary inside.T for sexual situations


Summary: Ariadne shows up at Arthur's door, soaked and crying. He offers her in, and gives her comfort. In return, she gives him a comfort he never thought possible. I suck summaries! Rated T for sexual situations.

A/N- It's late. And I'm tired. And I didn't proof this as well as I should have. So keep an eye out for grammer mistakes/spelling errors. Please let me know of any and I will fix them Thanks!

A/N part 2- I re-read it and fixed as many grammar/spelling things as I could. But again, if you see more, please let me know! Lol there was a spelling error in the part about watching out for spelling errors. I had to laugh at myself there.

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Inception!

* * *

It happened to the best of them. All of them could admit to the addiction. Dreams were such a simple thing; it was hard to imagine being addicted to them. But everyone who entered dreams of someone who wasn't themselves would tell you that it was, at least at first, an addicting thing.

There was something different about dreaming when it was induced. You knew you were dreaming, so you spent more time enjoying all that you could do, all that you could create. In real dreams, you thought you were in reality, and by the time you realized you were dreaming, it was too late. Having the power to create in your own dream was the thing that was addicting.

And now, it was Ariadne who found herself addicted. All she could think about was dreams, and dreaming. The only thing that was in her mind was the need. The need to be in a place where she could make everything happen.

The team had split up. All of them knew where the rest of them were. It was a safety precaution that Cobb had made them all take. They all knew where to find each other in case legal issues arose. But none of them kept in contact on a regular basis with each other. All of them, save Cobb, were living in their own little apartments.

It was in his own little apartment that Arthur found himself that night, alone as usual, reading one of his many books. A French song played quietly in the background, so that his mind was distracted in two ways. He was half reading the book, and half listening to the song. He was so involved that he almost didn't hear the knock on the door. But, thankfully, after the 2nd knock, his head perked up and he walked to the door. He opened it, and a soaked Ariadne stood in front of him. He glanced past her to the small window at the end of the hallway. It was indeed raining outside, though he hadn't been able to tell before because he hadn't been paying attention.

"Hello," he said, but it was more of a question. She smiled guiltily.

"I…hi," she said. Arthur could tell from her eyes that something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her. She nodded. Then suddenly, her head switched from an up and down movement to a side to side movement as she started to shake her head. Then, without warning, she gave a sniff and tears began to escape from her eyes. Arthur watched as she broke down slowly, tears falling from her eyes, and her small frame shaking. He took her hand gently and pulled her inside the house, and closed the door. He led her to the couch and held her hand. Unsure of what to do, or what she wanted him to do, he sat there for a moment until at last she spoke.

"I'm sorry…for this. I just, I needed someone and…" she stopped here, unable to find words. She continued to shake, her tears now fell silently, and her sobs subsided. She looked so scared, and without really thinking about it, Arthur pulled her into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, and she wrapped her arms around him. Her wet clothes and tears dampened his shirt, but right now it didn't matter. It never occurred to Arthur to ask her what was wrong, it felt so natural to be doing what they were doing right now. He would address the subject later, but not now.

Finally, she pulled away and her tears were gone.

"What happened?" he asked. It was such a small question for something that had obviously affected her so much.

"After Inception…I thought it would all go back to normal. I guess I just never realized that I would…need more. I needed to dream again. Not normal dreams, but induced dreams." Arthur nodded, understanding.

"It just…it got really bad I guess. I found another person who could do what Dom did, who had the equipment. And he let me use it, but eventually he wanted something in return. And when I didn't have anything to give him then he…got mad. I promised him money, but he didn't want money." She stopped talking. Arthur took her hand again.

"It's okay. You're safe here," he told her. She nodded.

"That's why I wanted to come. I've always felt safe with you," she said. He smiled. There was a silence between them except for the music that still played. Finally, he broke it.

"Come on, I'll get you some dry clothes," he said, and stood up. She followed and they walked to his bedroom.

"Do you own anything that isn't…a suit?" she asked him. He laughed and went to a drawer.

"I happen to have something especially for these sort of situations," he said, and pulled out a black t-shirt. Ariadne had never seen Arthur wear anything other than his usual three piece suits. In fact, she couldn't see him owning anything besides them. He had obviously proved her wrong.

"How come you own clothes like this if you never wear them?" she asked. He smiled.

"I told you. I have them specifically for this occasion," he said. She laughed.

"Okay, don't tell me." She said. He showed her to the bathroom, and she changed into the shirt. It was admittedly big on her, but she kept her jeans on anyway. While she changed in the bathroom, he changed in the bedroom. They both finished around the same time and walked back to the couch.

"Do you want anything? Food, something to drink?" he asked her.

"Maybe some water," she asked, and he got a glass full and handed it to her. She thanked him. After a long sip, she put the glass on a coaster.

"So…are you alright?" he asked her. He wasn't quite sure what he meant, but it felt like the right thing to ask. She nodded.

"I am now. I really am sorry for before. The whole…crying thing. It's embarrassing," she said with an apologetic smile on her face.

"It's fine. I'm glad you felt you could come here," he said. She took another drink of water. It was silent for a few moments. Finally, she broke it this time.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. He nodded and she continued. "What…did you do before Inception? I mean, before Cobb, or anything dream-related. Who…were you before you were a point-man?" she asked him. Her question was vague and he appreciated that she didn't pry.

"I…didn't have much of a life before all of this. I worked at a bank for a while, I met Cobb, and then I entered dreams." He said simply. She smiled at him.

"You had to have done something before then. Before banks, before jobs. I mean, where did you go to college? _**Did **_you go to college? I'm sorry if I'm…pushing. I just feel like I don't know anything about you." She said. He was a bit overwhelmed at first. No one had asked him questions about his life pre graduation in a very long time. His past had become a distant thing. He cleared his throat before beginning.

"I did go to college, actually. The London School of Business and Finance. It was…a very well thought out future, I guess you could say," he said. She raised her eyebrows with a smile. He smiled back.

"It sounds just like you. Okay, so LSBF, right? Ok, tell me about your childhood." She said. It wasn't hard to watch his face fall. "Or not, you don't have to," she clarified. He shook his head.

"It's…it's fine. My childhood…was non-existent, really. My dad was a great man; he was always trying his hardest. My mom wasn't really…there a lot. She spent a lot of nights out. A lot of nights she would bring men home who…weren't my father. She hadn't always been like that; it started after my younger sister Jessica was born. PTSD, I guess. It was hard for my dad to raise two kids. He was a great man, but not much of a father. So I helped a lot with Jessica. And every night I would watch my mom bring home these men. I felt like I was keeping such a big secret. Then one night, she comes home with a new man. They walk into the living room just as Dad's about to walk in. I'm watching from the kitchen. I'm expecting some big fight, you know. But he just watches for a little bit, and then he looks at me. He looks at me…and he smiles. Then he walks away. And this big secret I thought I'd been keeping…turns out he knew all along. He knew, and he didn't care. He was too in love with who she used to be." He was silent for a moment now. Ariadne watched his eyes as they unfocused, as if he was trying hard to remember, receding into himself to the moment it happened. After a moment, he refocused and began again.

"After I got my first job, she would ask for money. Sometimes, when she needed something. But mainly she left Jessica and I alone." He finished. Aridane kept silent for a moment.

"That would explain it," she said. He lifted an eyebrow.

"Explain what?" he asked her. She looked him in the eye.

"Your…lack of imagination. Your need for detail. Imagination comes from a childhood. If you never had one, then I guess…you can't have an imagination. It sounds like you had a lot of uncertainty in your life. It would have been easier to cling to the facts, to the details of it all." She grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I never really thought about it like that before." He said. He stared at their hands for a while, and she stared at him. The music, which had been playing for a while, finally came to a stop. It was a deafening silence, one that echoed around the room.

"I'm really glad you came tonight." He said softly. She nodded. They were both looking at their hands, such simple things that interlocked them as people. Without warning, they both looked up. They were looking at each other. Slowly, carefully almost, Arthur leaned forward. Ariadne did the same, and they tilted their heads respectively. They kissed softly, noses brushing against each other gently. He wrapped his fingers around her head tenderly and tangled his fingers in her delicate hair. Once their lips finally ceased to intertwine with the other's, they rested on the other's forehead. He smiled, and she kissed him again. Her lips were hungry for his. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and he placed his other hand on her waist. She wrapped a leg around his waist and he moved his hand from her waist and grasped her thigh. Finally they stood up and, without parting lips, stumbled into the small bedroom. Ariadne parted from him, and sat down on the bed. He sat down next to her, and they lay down together. He stroked her cheek gently and kissed her. She smiled, and moved closer to him. He brought her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She began to finger the buttons of his shirt, and undid one. He undid another. It continued until finally the shirt was off. They both smiled and kissed again.

* * *

He woke up to the sound of her steady breathing. She was lying next to him, her warmth radiating onto him. He placed a hand on her bare shoulder and rubbed gently, kissing it softly. She stirred slightly, and turned to face him.

"You look beautiful," he said. She blushed.

"Thank you." She replied. He kissed her.

"I love you," he said simply. She grabbed his hand.

"I love you too," she said quietly, and closed her eyes, snuggling up against his chest. They fell asleep again, and when at last they awoke, they stayed there even though neither of them were sleeping.

Her addiction had caused her suffering. But now it caused her a great pleasure.

* * *

A/N- So I decided to do something that wasn't "Words In My Head," so I created this! I liked the ending because it was short and sweet. I didn't want anything to be too complicated here, just nice and sweet. Until the last line. If you want to go all mind-gamey, you can take it to mean that Ariadne is dreaming. Because her addiction is dreaming, so dreaming used to cause her suffering but now it's causing her pleasure because she's dreaming of Arthur. Or she isn't dreaming and it just means that her addiction led her to Arthur. Or you can just say that you don't care and in that case then it's just a nice little fiction. So leave a review to say 1. Your opinion on the last statement and 2. If you enjoyed the story. Thank you all so much for reading! You're amazing!


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